How are you feeling?

It's a perfectly polite question, which I don't mind, and to which I give a perfectly polite answer in response.  Because I am fine.  

But since you asked, let me tell you about all of the odd and annoying things I am experiencing.

Swollen Nasal Passages:  

My nose gets so closed up and stuffy at night I can barely breathe.  Chris insists I haven't started snoring yet.  Probably because I've started breathing through my mouth resulting in horribly chapped lips.  It's worth it to not get kicked out of bed at night.

Weird textured brown spots: 

What is that spot?  I don't know, but I just scratched it off because it bothered me. 

Abdominal pain/round ligament pain/ braxton-hicks/cramps:

Whatever you want to call it, it hurts when your uterus goes from size of a child's fist to the size a basketball.  That just makes sense, but nobody mentioned it to me.  Not to mention that it is constantly contracting whether I'm aware of it or not (and sometimes I am).  Practice makes perfect.

Leg cramps:  

I have a vivid memory of my sister having frequent calf cramps as a teenager.  She said she only had one so it must have been really painful if it features so prominently in my mind.  I've only had a couple so far.  I think they become more frequent later in pregnancy.  Something to look forward to.

Varicose veins:

Yep, they have started to form.  Exercise is suppose to help minimize this heinous problem, but I don't think I can overcome my genetics.  I have Vein Solutions on speed dial just in case.

TMJ:  

In my early 20's I was a control subject in a TMJ study.  After my MRI, one of the researchers asked me if my TMJ was worse on the right than the left.   Huh?  I'm a control subject.  We exchanged confused looks and I left.  Now that my body has all sorts of new hormones running through it, lo and behold, intense jaw pain on the right side.  Thanks relaxin.

and while we are talking about relaxin...

...dropped a dozen eggs... oh, relaxin. I don't know if I'm clumsier or not, but it's nice to have a scape goat.

With all of that relaxin loosening up ligaments, I should be as bendy as Gumby.  From what I've read some people get more flexible.  I have also heard that leg muscles shorten during pregnancy.  I guess it just depends on the person.  I happen to have tightened up.  When I try to sit in butterfly my knees are practically pointing at the sky.

So now that that's out of the way, I feel fine.  Thank you for asking.